A Dying Empire

After the battle, Luther considered searching the corpses for any sign of identification that the bandits may have been carrying. The party found a number of small copper medallions, and each member took one. The medallions were marked with the Feldarin letter "thar".

[insert medallion picture]

Considering this, the party decided to journey into Barcium, which was only a short distance away, and investigate the meaning of this letter. From there, they split up: Arne saught advice at the nearest tavern; Dannica found council at the castle of Her Ladyship the Baroness; and Luther travelled to the church of his Lords.

The Dwarf found The Three Jolly Hanged Men full of cheerful patrons, and ordered himself a pint of finest ale. Drawing the barkeeper close, Arne questioned him about the mysterious symbol. The barkeeper instantly became suspicious, unnerved by talk of bandits, and advised Arne to have another pint, but to drink it quickly and leave. He also passed the stout adventurer a small piece of paper, with a mysterious message…

Meanwhile, Dannica spoke with a guard at the gatehouse to the Baroness' castle. He was more amicable to her mention of outlaws, and mentioned that there had been rumours of bandits on the move. He also promised to personally look into these claims, and take the clue of the medallions to his superiors…

Lastly, Luther saught guidance in the grand Cathedral of Barcium, almost abandoned at this early hour. The senior of two priests, faithful of the Travel God, told Luther that in days of old, single letters were often used to denote things that resembled their appearence. They would be used as trade signs, abbreviations, prayers, cult symbols, and more. Thar, resembling a full sail in its capital form and a folded sail in its miniscule form, represents the sea, sailing, trade, travel and motion.

After meeting up, the party shared all they had discovered. Arne then revealed the odd message he had recieved from the barman: "34 KINGS." What could such a message mean? The party considered it as an address, and vowed to seek out the place in the morning, after a good rest at another tavern.

After a full night's rest, the party headed to Barcium's docks: a modest set up on the bank of the river Isla, which runs into the Alarran Sea. After asking some dock workers about the local area, they headed to Kings Street and found an empty warehouse at number 34. They searched the building carefully, after having seen a man inside. Eventually, they entered into the cellar.

The cellar was slightly flooded, with an inch of water beneath their feet. A small unused desk held some unimportant paperwork. A small locked door lay on one side of the room, and a stone staircase lead upstairs. They ascended carefully. A kettle was boiling in a nearby room, and Dannica stealthily crept in, finding a man with his back to the door, sitting at a table. She strung her bow, and held the point of the arrow against the fool's back. As the others joined her, the man instantly gave in, telling them he was just a guard, hired by the bandits to watch the warehouse. He maintained his innocence, and pointed them to a key to the downstairs door, locked in a nearby cupboard. They took it, but no before Dannica could waste an arrow shooting the kettle.

Leaving the guard quivering, the party decided to search the upper storey, having heard footsteps. All they encountered was a small dog, but the search did earn them several copper pieces each, and a small gemstone of unknown worth.

The party then decided to open the cellar door. A tunnel was revealed, and hesitanty, the party followed it. Dannica cast light on her armour, and the party followed the tunnel, keeping on their guard. They emerged in sunlight (and Dannica dismissed her spell) some distance from the city, but within view of it, and they climbed a row of hills to reveal a large, ancient watchtower, with a barracks built into the base of it. From this Luther sensed a pervading aura of extreme Chaos, and the team chose to investigate, rushing the tower in the hopes of remaining unseen. Instead of entering the door facing them, however, they instead circled the tower to find another door in the back. Kicking it in, they burst into the tower's main foyer.

With many of the windows boarded up, the tower interior was dark. The floor was uneaven flagstones, with grass growing up from between the stones, and the air tasted stale. With two doors before them, they hesitantly entered the right, with Arne taking the lead. An empty, long-unused kitchen lay before them, with a single door to the left of them. Wisely, they listened at the door for signs of life. The sounds of motion could be heard, and the party split up, with Arne and Luther returning to the lobby to tackle the same room from its other entrance. Arne burst through the door from the kitchen, and a second later Luther bashed down the other. With the feeble light streaming into the room, they could just see a decaying banquet hall before them, and two skeletons shambling slowly towards them, swords in hand…